While experts are busy explaining the reasons behind the fall of BJP govts in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, an opinion is gathering strength that one of the biggest factors that has influenced the election outcomes is the farm distress.
One of the news outlets say that the biggest problem CM Raje faced in this election was the vicious cycle the farmers of the state have got caught in. It does not help that the state is a desert and a water-starved state.
Garlic glut in the market when the crop was harvested in March is also cited as possible reason of farmers’ frustration. It had led to farmers’ suicides in Haroti region – Raje’s stronghold, as she hails from the region, reports News Click.
Raje government announced a compensation package, which was not exactly a compensation, but a farm loan waiver that waived farm loan up to Rs 50,000, taken from cooperative bank.
Same was true of other states where BJP failed to address the farmers’ issues. On the other hand Congress was clever enough to announce many sops for farmers in case of victory. This swung the voters in the last minute, many felt.